Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer releases statement on Fast and Furious

By KTAR Newsroom | September 19, 2012 at 4:35 pmUPDATED: September 19, 2012 at 4:36 pm

Editor’s note: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer released the following statement in response to an investigation into the botched Operation Fast and Furious that saw thousands of guns move into the hands of Mexican cartels. It has not been altered in any way.

“With today’s release of the Inspector General’s investigation, it is clear that ‘failure’ is the word that best describes the ill-conceived gun-walking probe known as Operation Fast & Furious.

“This 400-page report documents in tragic detail the failed judgment by federal authorities who concocted the Fast & Furious scheme; failed leadership by ATF and DOJ officials who allowed it to proceed under their watch; and failed accountability by the Obama administration in dodging questions and ducking responsibility at every turn.

“This much we now know: Operation Fast & Furious assisted in walking more than 2,000 firearms into the waiting arms of drug cartels and criminals. A slew of victims on both sides of the border were left in the wake of this operation – including U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Murdered in December 2010 while on-duty near Rio Rico, Arizona, Agent Terry’s body was found near two AK-47s traced to Operation Fast & Furious.

“The most universal, basic responsibility of any federal law enforcement authority is to protect the public. So, there can be no more damning finding than that of the Inspector General that Obama administration officials responsible for Operation Fast & Furious were guilty of ‘failure to adequately consider the risk to public safety in the United States and Mexico.'”